I'm on a road trip throughout the southwestern part of Norway, and I was pleased to stumble upon this gem. I had seen photos of the swords before, but I had always assumed the monument was far away from civilization. Turns out they're right in the middle of a residential area in Stavanger. Easy to get to if you're in town!
The monument is to commemorate a battle in 872 AD, when Norway became unified under one ruler, sort of. The 10 metres tall swords are stuck in the stone, symbolizing peace. When your sword is stuck in the ground, you can't continue fighting, but will have to talk your way to a fair peace instead.
It's a particularly pretty sight around sunset.
Edit: Removed claim that the battle had anything to do with Christianity. The "winner" of the battle sent his sons to England to be educated and become Christians, but that played no part in this battle. Harald Fairhair, because that was his name, just wanted control of an area somewhat similar to what eventually became the kingdom of Norway.
It would really awesome if there was some background story about how in the darkest of days, when Norway needed them the most it's three giant guardians arose to bring back peace.
The monument was created by sculptor Fritz Røed from Bryne and was unveiled by King Olav V of Norway in 1983. The three bronze swords stand 10 metres (33 ft) tall and are planted into the rock of a small hill next to the fjord. They commemorate the historic Battle of Hafrsfjord which by tradition took place there in the year 872, when King Harald Fairhair gathered all of Norway under one crown. The largest sword represents the victorious Harald, and the two smaller swords represent the defeated petty kings. The monument also represents peace, since the swords are planted into solid rock, so they may never be removed.
uspn on July 9th, 2017 at 23:09 UTC »
I'm on a road trip throughout the southwestern part of Norway, and I was pleased to stumble upon this gem. I had seen photos of the swords before, but I had always assumed the monument was far away from civilization. Turns out they're right in the middle of a residential area in Stavanger. Easy to get to if you're in town!
The monument is to commemorate a battle in 872 AD, when Norway became unified under one ruler, sort of. The 10 metres tall swords are stuck in the stone, symbolizing peace. When your sword is stuck in the ground, you can't continue fighting, but will have to talk your way to a fair peace instead.
It's a particularly pretty sight around sunset.
Edit: Removed claim that the battle had anything to do with Christianity. The "winner" of the battle sent his sons to England to be educated and become Christians, but that played no part in this battle. Harald Fairhair, because that was his name, just wanted control of an area somewhat similar to what eventually became the kingdom of Norway.
erickaraiza on July 10th, 2017 at 02:39 UTC »
It would really awesome if there was some background story about how in the darkest of days, when Norway needed them the most it's three giant guardians arose to bring back peace.
HermitPrime on July 10th, 2017 at 04:15 UTC »
The monument was created by sculptor Fritz Røed from Bryne and was unveiled by King Olav V of Norway in 1983. The three bronze swords stand 10 metres (33 ft) tall and are planted into the rock of a small hill next to the fjord. They commemorate the historic Battle of Hafrsfjord which by tradition took place there in the year 872, when King Harald Fairhair gathered all of Norway under one crown. The largest sword represents the victorious Harald, and the two smaller swords represent the defeated petty kings. The monument also represents peace, since the swords are planted into solid rock, so they may never be removed.